Interviewing a Real Estate Agent: 3 THINGS TO NEVER TELL

Want top Dollar for your property? Don’t say this when interviewing a REAL ESTATE AGENT

Real Estate Agent Brisbane

Despite all of the information available on the Internet, there are some endeavors that you absolutely have to leave in the hands of professionals. Engaging with a real estate agent is one of those. Whether you are buying or selling property, delving into real estate involves a great deal of time, effort and most of all, skill.

Hiring a real estate agent provides you with a number of advantages. First, an agent has the experience and expertise to guide you through the process and thus, saves you time in learning the nuances of the industry by yourself. Second, an agent has a network of connections that will broaden your search for buyers. Third, and most importantly, an agent is not emotionally connected to the property and this allows her to negotiate from a stronger mindset.

However, the decision to hire an agent means you must go through the process of interviewing a real estate agent to market your property.

The number one priority for the majority of my clients is achieving the highest price possible for their property. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s my job and duty as a professional real estate sales agent to do all I can to achieve this for them.

But to do this, there’s certain strategies that I must employ to make this a reality, and unbeknown to many of my sellers, there’s things they tell me that they probably shouldn’t.

As a seller, there’s things you really must tell your agent, and then there’s some things you should never tell your agent. Not because you willingly want to withhold information, but because disclosing to your agent certain information can in fact work against you.

Here are the top three things you should keep to yourself when interviewing a real estate agent…

Don’t tell your agent what your bottom sale price is. I have come across agents who ask their client how low they are willing to go to sell their property. The client, perhaps trusting the agent out of emotional vulnerability, will disclose the bottom sale figure. Then again, there are those who willingly disclose their bottom sale price in an attempt to pull on the emotional heart strings of the agent perhaps hoping it will fuel motivation to get the best possible price. Wrong! Never tell your agent the absolute least amount you will accept in a sale. Keep them guessing because if they don’t know your bottom price, it will help your agent negotiate the highest price possible.

Don’t tell the agent you are desperate for a quick sale, even if you are. People sell property for a number of reasons. They could be selling the family home to move interstate, separating or liquidating assets to settle debts. Whatever the reason, sellers must understand that real estate is not a liquid asset. A property takes time to sell and of course, there is a process to follow which involves many external parties. If you tell your agent you are desperate for money and need the property sold yesterday, quite simply you will not get the best deal possible. Again, it comes back to negotiation and if your agent knows you’re in dire straights, the power is lost and a smart buyer will take full advantage if they sense this may be the case.

Don’t ask the agent to discount their commission. Having been in the real estate game for more than a decade, I have often been asked by potential sellers whether I will lower my commission or sales fee. Now I understand sellers have a right to negotiate commission, but asking an agent to do this is the equivalent to your boss asking you to lower your salary. Would you do it? If an agent is flexible on their fees then sellers should be asking themselves why. A true professional will never discount their fee simply because they know they’re worth it. Anything less would mean a less than average job and no professional would go down this path. Think about it, if an agent agrees to discounting their commission, how much are they also discounting off your sale price?

Hiring an agent to sell your home has great advantages but you have to keep in mind that a transaction in real estate essentially involves three (3) parties: the buyer, the seller and the agent. Invariably, each party will have their own interests to protect. While it benefits to have a sound relationship, you have to be deliberate and purposeful when dealing with an agent. Be strategic in your disclosure of information but at the same time, trust your agent will do all they can to get you the very best result.